Ask, and ye shall receive.
I will herewith post my notes from the KM06 Elders school I recently attended. I will post this in 6 parts, to give people a chance to read smaller chunks and comment on them.
A couple of introductory notes: I wrote an awful lot of stuff, and will not post everything. For each talk, i will post 3 sections: (1) General synopsis, (2) Personal thoughts & observations, (3) Particularly egregious quotations.
The primary speakers, who delivered more than 1/2 of the talks, were a Circuit Overseer and a guest from Brooklyn Bethel.
To protect anonymity, we will refer to the Sadly Inane Circuit Overseer as Brother SICO.
And the old-timer lifelong brother from Bethel, Completely Out Of Touch, as Brother Bethel-COOT.
One more introductory comment: It seems the main points the Society wanted to send to elders were:
1) Education is bad, bad, bad, and the elders should "help" young ones understand that
2) Elders are not handling judicial cases correctly in a lot of cases
3) Publishers in general, and elders in particular, are becoming far too lax and materialistic
Talk #1: OBJECTIVE OF THE KINGDOM MINISTRY SCHOOL COURSE - Brother Bethel-COOT
Synopsis: Satan is attacking the congregation, elders are a restraint against this, as the first-century apostles were. Don't record these talks, or take "computer notes", or broadcast them live via cell phone, or post notes on the internet (Oopsie!)
Sir's analysis: Basic introductory material, nothing particularly controversial
Particularly egregious quotes: Nothing particularly awful, but did get confirmation of something I had heard: Fully 25% of the publishers in the US are in Spanish congregations. (Spanish congregations have great success in the ministry-Imagine what the % increase/decrease of publihers is for the English speakers, given that growth is flat in the US!)
Talk #2: CONTINUE TO PROGRESS SPIRITUALLY - Brother SICO
Synopsis: There is a current in the old system of things, we must swim against it. Not enough to just "float". Don't fall into trap of thinking "the end" is a long way off. Need to have proper attitude toward material things. Elders should simplify their lives and preach more, perhaps even pioneer.
Sir's analysis: A pointed message to elders who are slowing down in their activity. Apparently, many have the idea that the end is delaying, so they will enjoy llife as best they can now. Emphasis made that the publishers follow the elders' example.
Egregious quotes: "Some say the end is a long way off. Some friends are saving money for retirement, as if they were going to (chortle) retire in this system of things. Can you imagine what that would do to someone's zeal for the ministry? It would kill it."
"Do both husband and wife have to work? Could one reach out to do more in the ministry? The example we set affects the congregation."
"Even nibbling at the table of demons by viewing debasing entertainment can poison us."
Talk # 3: LIVE A BALANCED SIMPLE LIFE - by Brother Local Elder
Synopsis: Need to shun materialism. Be spiritual men, not physical men. Don't be overly concerned about employment--trust Jehovah, do things his way. Need to be "visible" to the congregation at meetings, in ministry. Don't give in to pressure from employer if they won't give you time off for assembly, elders school.
Sir's analysis: Same song, different tune. Too many elders are becoming materialistic, or at least want to have a comfortable lifestyle.
Egregious quotes: Nothing too outrageous here.
Talk #4: RESTRAIN YOUR EYES FROM SEEING ANYTHING WORTHLESS - Brother Local Elder
Synopsis: Beware bad entertainment. Even if you think no one is watching, Jehovah can see us.
Sir's analysis: Based on the examples used to illustrate certain "dangers", you can see where they think the problem lies:
Example 1: An elder on a business trip secretly watches porn in his hotel room
Example 2: An elder feels flattered by the flirtation of a young woman at work
Example 3: An elder's child is addicted to violent video games
Obviously, they are getting a lot of CO reports on fornication that start with porn viewing or flirtation at work. Porn will be a recurring theme throughout the school.
Egregious quotes: "Satan plays a role in the production of violent video games"
"Even a temporary or accidental brush with pornography can bring sad consequences"
Section 2 of my notes to be posted this afternoon...